Redemption
by iheartgod175
Summary: R.O.B.'s return to the Super Smash Brothers tournament has perplexed many competitors. After all, it's no secret that he directed the Subspace Emissary, an event that sent the world on the brink of destruction. But everyone has a reason for their actions, and this voiceless robot is no exception. Sequel to "Acceptance". Two-shot.
1. Part I: Remorse

**A/N: **Before I start, I want to give thanks to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me the idea for this story. You are worthy to be praised! Amen.

Many people asked for a R.O.B. story immediately after I posted _Acceptance_, which is about the Duck Hunt Duo and why they're in Smash Brothers. Reading that story isn't really required, but it does set up the tone for this story.

Opinions on R.O.B. are split into two camps. The first camp are people that find him cool, love the fact that Nintendo added an important part of their history to the roster and felt bad for him because of his role in the Subspace Emissary. The second camp has people that do not like him for whatever reason, say that he's a waste of space and that he's lame. Granted, I used to be in the second camp, and I originally didn't see the point of R.O.B. being in the roster either. My opinion changed slightly due to the Subspace Emissary, but what really changed my mind was when I did my research and learned a lot of about why he was created.

This one-shot has been held back on the backburner for many reasons. One, I started two new stories (_Fiery Heart, Broken Soul _and _The Heroes of Time_), and two, I was trying to word this one-shot over and over again. I basically decided that I'd have to post this as a two-shot, since it's going to be too long to post as one whole chapter. The first part delves into R.O.B.'s history and who he was, as well as how his world fell apart. The second part will go into his role in the Subspace Emissary. As with _Acceptance _I will not spoil anything, but I will tell you that Luigi will be the one involved, not Mario.

I hope you enjoy part one of this story!

* * *

**Story Title: **Redemption

**Tags:** Tragedy/ Hurt/ Comfort/ Friendship/ Drama

**Rating: T **(for violence and tragic events, as well as some Nightmare Fuel)

**Summary: **Many have wondered why R.O.B. was allowed to stay in the Super Smash Brothers tournament after his actions in the Subspace Emissary. After all, he did almost destroy the multiverse, and as a machine, he probably didn't feel any remorse for it. But Luigi, the only Smasher who's willing to be R.O.B.'s friend, sees a sadness in the optics of this old machine and wonders how it's even possible for him to feel emotions. When he goes to Master Hand for questioning, the answers he gets are not what he expected. Sequel to Acceptance. Two-shot.

**Disclaimer: **As I said last time, I'm not Mashpotato Samura-I mean, Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Smash Brothers, so I don't own the series. *sighs*

* * *

**REDEMPTION**

**PART 1: Remorse**

"You should've seen the look on Mario's face after I used the Poltergust 5000. Man, if any moment called for a Kodak that was definitely it," Luigi said. "Although I have to admit that your Final Smash was cool, too, R.O.B."

The robot next to him turned to him and nodded, which the green plumber could only interpret as a 'thanks'.

"Although I have to admit, a whole bunch of people have lasers as their Final Smash this year," Luigi noted, stroking his moustache. "Palutena has one, Samus has one, that Gunner has three lasers...that's nothing compared to Mega Man. He summons five versions of himself to shoot lasers at you…"

R.O.B. looked down at the ground, his eyes looking sad. This made Luigi do a double take.

"Oh, I didn't mean to say that you're copying everyone else. I was just pointing out that a whole bunch of people have lasers," he said. "I know it wasn't easy for you to convince the professor to make the parts that allowed you to have a giant laser."

R.O.B. once more nodded. Luigi sighed. He really did enjoy the robot's company, but there were times that he wished that he could talk so that he could answer him.

"Hey, we'd better get ready for bed, though. The final rounds for the tournament start tomorrow," he said. "Don't overdo your training like you did today, alright?"

R.O.B nodded slowly, but before Luigi could say anything, the robot hovered over to his room door, which slid open automatically. The doors closed behind him with a metallic clang, leaving Luigi alone in the hallway.

"Geez, was it something I said that made him upset?" Luigi muttered, scratching his head.

Just then, the lights in the hallway started to dim, signaling light's out for everyone. Luigi sighed and went to his room, which was right across the hall from R.O.B's. He sighed. If he'd said anything to make the robot upset, he wanted to find a way to amend the situation.

As he got changed, he wondered how that was even possible. How could he have upset him? From what he'd gathered when he met R.O.B several years ago, he was a machine built by his professors to recover sticks of dynamite in their factory. Machines weren't programmed to have sentience, so they weren't supposed to feel emotions either. They didn't feel anger, joy, sympathy or compassion. In a way, that made machines even more monstrous than humans sometimes, since they could do horrendous things without remorse.

But Luigi got the feeling that wasn't the case with R.O.B. During the Subspace Emissary, the robot had looked quite depressed after realizing that his actions were causing entire worlds to be swallowed whole. Granted, Luigi had heard this second hand from Samus, who had met R.O.B. after he was revealed to be the Ancient Minister engineering the multiverse's destruction.

But still…why would R.O.B. do such a thing? And why did he look so saddened all the time, when as a machine he shouldn't be able to feel sadness?

Luigi climbed into bed, a whirwind of thoughts reigning in his mind. He sighed. All of this was making his head hurt.

"I'll probably feel a whole lot better after I get some hot milk. That always puts me to sleep," he said. Kicking off the covers, he put on his slippers and walked out of the room to go to the mess hall. He could hear the snoring of some of the occupants through the doors.

On his way to the mess hall, he found himself passing Master Hand's office. He gulped. The last time he'd been here was when he got in trouble for playing a "harmless" prank on Fox after a match. He wasn't going to go back in there after Master Hand showed him just what would happen the next time he tried to "skin a fox".

But Luigi also knew that if there was anybody who could answer these questions, it was Master Hand.

Sighing, he knocked on the door, wondering if the Hand of Creation was still awake. He then berated himself for wondering about something so obvious. Master Hand hardly if ever slept.

The doors swung open, and the entire cosmos was spread out before Luigi, dozens of galaxies and star systems spread out before him. Below, he could see the elaborate Final Destination, though the one for this tournament was smaller than before.

"I swear this stage is gonna get smaller and smaller every tournament," he muttered.

His musings were broken when he heard Master Hand's voice boom out, _"Luigi, are you going to stand there, or are you going to come in?"_

"I-I'm coming in…sir," Luigi replied quickly, and jumped into the room. He landed on the large platform on his face, sending pain coursing through him. "Ow…"

_"__Luigi, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" _Master Hand floated in out of nowhere, flexing his fingers. _"I believe lights out was a few moments ago."_

"Well…I can't sleep, sir."

_"__Really? You, the heaviest sleeper besides Kirby, cannot sleep?"_

"Um…no, not really," Luigi muttered, kicking his right foot back and forth nervously. "B-But it's not without reason, though."

Master Hand sighed. _"Well, Luigi, if it helps, you can talk to me about your troubles. Perhaps we may come to a solution."_

Luigi sighed. _Come on, Luigi. If you can get over your fear of ghosts, you can at least tell Master Hand what's going on._

"…Well, you know how everyone was asking why the Duck Hunt Duo was in? I want to know why R.O.B. got in," he said finally. "I know why he's in, for a part of the history of the multiverse, but…lately he seems really sad and melancholy."

Master Hand said nothing, instead going completely still.

"And the thing is, I can't figure out for the life of me why he would be so upset. He's a machine, and machines aren't supposed to feel emotion. But he seemed kind of sad when I mentioned that he got a laser like nearly everyone else in the tournament," Luigi continued. His words came out in a rush, as though he wouldn't be able to speak again if he stopped talking. He looked up at Master Hand. "Do you know what's up with R.O.B., Master Hand?"

There was a pause, and then Master Hand relaxed, albeit barely. _"To explain that, Luigi, I will have to go into detail about the Subspace Emissary…an event that was my fault because of my inability to control everything in the multiverse, and because of my own neglect."_

"I heard most of the story secondhand from Mario and the others who were involved, but…I-"

_"__No need to worry, Luigi. I will explain everything. But before I do, I must explain what R.O.B's role and purpose was originally in this universe, and why he has been back after so many years."_

With a snap of his fingers, the whole of Final Destination disappeared, and the world became a swirl of color for Luigi. He could make out some things in the mix of color, though for the most part he heard distorted voices all shouting at once.

_"__It is time to begin…"_

_"__You have outlived your usefulness."_

_"You WILL follow my orders__, or all of you will die!"_

That last line sent chills up Luigi's spine. The voice that shouted it sounded like Crazy Hand on helium gas. He turned around to ask Master Hand what was going on, but he didn't see the Hand of Creation anywhere.

Just then, the world stopped spinning, and Luigi found himself in the middle of a large building. With the large beakers and Benson burners left about on the table, he could see that it was a laboratory. All around him, there were massive blue and red walls that seemed to be blocking the path to the rest of the lab.

At the sound of lumbering footsteps, Luigi turned around to see a short, portly professor in a white labcoat stumble through the laboratory, his eyes closed as he moved forward. A few seconds later, another portly professor came running in, but he was wearing a gold labcoat and had gold hair. His expression was frantic.

"AAAH! R.O.B., hurry up and pick up the dynamite!" he called out.

There was a low whirring and what sounded like a top whirring on top of a machine. Then there was the beeping of a button, and the blue wall lifted upwards and disappeared into the ceiling. The professor in the white labcoat continued his sleepwalking routine until the professor in the gold coat ran up behind him and shook him awake. When that didn't work, he struck him across the face, knocking him down.

The man was up in an instant, his eyes wide with terror. "I TOLD YOU, THE MONKEYS HAVE MY MONEY!" he screamed.

"Forget the monkeys, Professor Hector!" the golden-haired man shouted, irritation in his voice. "If we don't hurry, those pesky Smicks are going to blow up the lab!"

Hector looked at the man with a serious expression. "We can't let that happen, can we? Quickly, get the Robotic Operating Buddy and take him to the other side of the lab. I swear the next time those birds get in here…"

All of a sudden, an earsplitting shriek filled the air, and both Hector and Vector looked upwards to see a green and yellow bird like creature fly through the labs, carrying a stick of dynamite in its claws. To both professors' horror, the stick was lit.

"Oh no!" Hector screamed. "Come on, before they blow us all to places!"

"I think you mean 'pieces', sir," Vector said.

Hector rolled his eyes. "Whatever! Let's get going!"

The two professors took off running, and R.O.B. came not long after, seeming to be floating off the ground as he took off after the professors.

"So…what's going on here?" Luigi asked, scratching his head.

_"__This is the world where R.O.B. was built, Luigi," _Master Hand answered. _"Gyromite Labs used to be a very successful laboratory for a long time, until they started making defective robot servants and lost more than they earned."_

"So what did R.O.B. do here? Did he just open doors and stack things?"

_"__For the most part, Luigi, he was created as the perfect assistant. He was created to bring life back to the dying robot servant industry in this world. You can call him a Trojan horse if it helps you understand any better. He did not necessarily trick people into buying him, but many R.O.B.s were bought due to the robots they came with. This method brought success to Gyromite labs," _Master Hand explained._  
_

Luigi stared at Master Hand in shock, finding it hard to believe that this voiceless robot had saved an entire industry in this world. "Are you serious about this?"

_"__Since when am I never serious?" _Master Hand replied simply.

"I guess I can't argue with you on that," Luigi noted. He watched as the robot and the professors chased out the Smicks, and put out the fire on the stick of dynamite.

"That was a close one. Next time, remind me to lock my doors when I sleep," Hector replied.

"I _did_ lock your doors the last time, Prof, but you simply unlocked it and kept walking. You almost blew up our lab trying to return the 'money' to the monkeys in the walls," Vector explained, folding his arms.

Hector chuckled nervously, his face going beet red. "I do have the bad habit of talking in my sleep, don't I?" he said.

"Yes, Professor, you do," Vector said.

"Well, at least I have one ally in this place. Do you think I'm crazy, R.O.B.?" Hector turned to the machine.

R.O.B. sat for a moment, and then he nodded his head twice in agreement. Hector's mouth dropped open in shock while Vector laughed.

"I thought you were on my side!" he sputtered, to which the machine said nothing else.

Luigi chuckled, thinking how funny it would be to have Mario in place of Hector. As the trio headed back towards their rooms, another question came to mind. "But that still didn't answer my question about how R.O.B. could feel emotion."

_"__I was just going to get to that. As I mentioned earlier, the Robotic Operating Buddy was created as an assistant for the Stack Up robot. As a robotic assistant, he is not supposed to feel emotion. He is supposed to do what he was programmed for. But R.O.B. is an anomaly in this case. As the very first prototype, he was able to develop odd personality quirks, which eventually became a full on personality. He is a bit of an overachiever, and is very curious about everyone and everything. He is utterly devoted to whatever assignment he is given, and he cares for those who show him kindness. For some odd reason, rather than taking out these aspects as any reasonable programmer would, Hector and Vector decided to add even more features to him."_

"Such as?"

_"__He can digest food, feel pain, and display more emotions than most people. The result made him almost human in a sense."_

"Huh." Luigi really didn't know how to answer that. He'd always assumed that R.O.B. was just another emotionless machine. But the fact that he expressed happiness, sadness and even anger with people on various occasions discounted that theory.

"Wait a minute, Master Hand," Luigi started, dread coming into his stomach. "When I first met him and we were starting to know each other, R.O.B. told me that his professors were killed in a horrific explosion before he came to the tournament. Is that true?"

Master Hand let out a sad sigh. _"How exactly did he tell you that? He is incapable of speaking."_

"Captain Toad invented this really cool tablet that works kind of like a translator. It takes all of his beeps, buzzes and whatever noises he makes so I can understand him," Luigi said. "I ask him questions, he beeps his responses and the tablet translates them, though sometimes it's not all accurate."

_"__Not all translators are accurate, especially computerized ones," _Master Hand explained. _"But that is basically what happened. Both Hector and Vector were in fact, killed, but not immediately before the tournament as R.O.B. explained."_

"Wait, so this happened before he came?" Luigi asked.

_"__Unfortunately, yes. It happened a good twenty three years ago. I can see why he told you a different story, Luigi. The actual event traumatized him for years."_

Luigi was shocked. He didn't think that a robot could even _feel _traumatized. The scene at the labs disappeared, now showing the building in flames. Tall columns of black smoke rose into the sky, making the steel gray clouds even darker. All around them, snow fell, sending a chill up Luigi's spine.

There were a group of men that were taking R.O.B.s out of the burning laboratory and loading them into a truck. Most of the R.O.B.s went without protest, but near the entrance, there was commotion as three men wrestled to get a hold of one of them. The original prototype R.O.B. was struggling to get out of their grip and rush back towards the burning building. After a few seconds, one man hit a switch on R.O.B.'s lower body, and there was a low hum as he powered down.

"Phew! That took a lot of effort," one man said.

"Good thing you found that switch. I think he would've blown himself up if we didn't stop him," the second said. "Let's get these guys to a safe place."

With that, the three men hefted R.O.B. up onto their shoulders and dragged him over to the truck. After they placed him in, they closed the doors to the truck and the truck pulled off, kicking up dirty snow all around them.

"What happened here?" Luigi asked.

_"Professor Hector and Vector had more problems aside from Hector's sleepwalking habits. The Smicks, one of which you saw earlier, were bird like creatures that scattered dynamite all over the labs, most of which were lit. In order to combat these creatures, Hector and Vector created R.O.B. to help them get rid of the dynamite," _Master Hand explained. _"Unfortunately, R.O.B. is not that fast, and he normally has to do things one at a time. One time, the Smicks came into the lab en masse, lighting sticks of blue and red dynamite and leaving them all over the labs. R.O.B. attempted to put out the sticks of dynamite, but he was not fast enough, and one section of the laboratory exploded."_

"Is...is that where Professor Hector and Vector were killed?" Luigi asked.

_"Yes. R.O.B. recalled hearing their screams as they were both consumed by the flames. He attempted to reach them, but the firefighters got him out of the wreckage just in time," _Master Hand explained. _"He would have joined them had those men not saved his life."_

"Oh my goodness." Luigi suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Losing the people who gave you purpose in life to a tragic accident that you could have prevented would have traumatized anybody. The robot must have been carrying that guilt for decades.

When he spoke, his voice was tight with restrained tears. "What happened to him from here?"

_"Well, the same time the labs went up in flames was the same time that the robot servant industry started to fall out of favor with people. The rich decided to build their own robots that were superior to the ones Gyromite Labs created, and the poor had no way to afford them. Many found R.O.B.s to be outdated, very slow machines. Eventually, most people either threw away their robots, or gave him away. Some did keep them, but mostly because they didn't know what to do with them.__ There were only two models with R.O.B.'s line before it was discontinued: the first wave with grey plating, and the tan and red plating he currently has now."  
_

The scene shifted once more to a large warehouse in the middle of nowhere. Arid wind blew all around Luigi and sand kicked into his eyes. The same laborers from earlier were placing the R.O.B.s inside the warehouse, some less gently than others. Beside them, a group of men in black business suits watched as they put the robots inside the building. One man in particular, a Japanese man wearing a silver suit and a white dress shirt with a red tie, looked at the robots sadly as they were placed in.

When the prototype was put inside, he held up a hand before they closed the door, signaling for the men to wait. He walked inside, and pressed a button on R.O.B.'s head. There was a loud whirring noise as his upper torso spun about and his optics snapped open. He looked upwards at the man.

"Famicom Robot, I am so sorry," he said, his accent very thick. "I am afraid you and the rest of the Famicom Robots will have to remain here until we can find some better living arrangements for you. Let it not be said that we are ungrateful. You have done your duty well. You have saved the world of video games, and I am sure we would have gone out of business by now if you had not been involved." He reached forward and patted the robot on the head. "Can I trust you to look after the Robots while I am gone?"

There was a pause as R.O.B. looked at the millions of R.O.B.s inside the warehouse. Resignation was in his optics, as if he realized that this would be his duty from now on. He turned towards the man, and nodded.

"Good. I know you will not fail," the man said. He then bowed before the robot in reverence. "Until we meet again, Famicom Robots, _sayonara._"

With that, the men slid both doors closed. The prototype R.O.B. and the others all waved their arms in a farewell gesture just before the doors shut with a loud clang.

After padlocking the doors, the men turned towards the Japanese businessman. "Mr. Dou, I know that was hard for you to do," the lead man said. He had a bushy beard and wore outdoor clothing, as well as a green baseball cap on his head.

Dou nodded. "It was very hard. My intention was to create more things for the Famicom Robots...but with the Famicom's lifespan ending soon, and with everyone abandoning the Robot, not to mention the unfortunate deaths of Professor Hector and Vector, I have no other choice but to discontinue their line. I just hope that they will not hate me."

"Don't worry, sir. The robots are just accessories. They can't feel emotions anyway," the man said. "You won't need to worry about them hating you."

"On that, I believe you are wrong," Do said placidly. "The prototype R.O.B. is suffering due to the deaths of his creators. And I believe most of them are affected by this. Just give them time. You will see that I am right."

The other man sighed, but he said nothing. The group marched to their black SUV in single file, got in, and squealed away from the desert, kicking up dust and sand behind them.

"Wait, who was that?" Luigi asked. "And who's this...Mr. Dou?"

_"His name is Ninten Dou, the person who originally__ came up with the idea for R.O.B.. He farmed out the work to Gyromite Labs, then known to be the gods of robotics. R.O.B. was known in Japan as the Famicom Robot, and his job there was to be an accessory for video games in order to revive a dying industry there as well. Dou had many great things planned for him, and he ordered mass production of the R.O.B.s, but unfortunately, since many had no use for him, he had to gather them all up and place them in a warehouse. He placed the prototype R.O.B. in charge of all the R.O.B.s in their small warehouse in the middle of the desert. He never came back, not even to check on them."  
_

"Why did he leave them?"

_"He became preoccupied with his business, Luigi. That's what happens. I myself paid no attention to R.O.B., and I manage most of the multiverse...until the third tournament."_

"A lot of people didn't know who he was when he appeared. He just...kind of came out of nowhere," Luigi admitted.

_"Many feel the same way you did about R.O.B., Luigi...hence why I am not too proud of what happened during the third tournament."_

Luigi could sense sadness in Master Hand's voice. He remembered what the Hand of Creation had said earlier about the Subspace Emissary being his fault, so he knew that this wasn't going to be an easy story to tell.

_"Not long after Melee was finished, Crazy Hand and I had a falling out. We dueled over the fate of the multiverse, as Crazy Hand planned to make it a madman's world. I stopped him and exiled him into a dimension far beyond the Final Destination, known as the Subspace. I thought that it would keep Crazy Hand at bay, and I began planning the next Super Smash Brothers tournament. Another competitor by the name of Tabuu had attempted to be the first of the newcomers, but I sensed his power, which exceeded my own. I would not allow myself to be beaten by this mere mortal, and I sealed him into the Subspace as well. Alas, that pride backfired._

_"Late into the tournament, I received a startling report that the balance of power had shifted, and a great power was planning to take over the multiverse. I went to the Subspace to see what was going on, and that was when I fell into a disastrous trap."_

Everything around Luigi went pitch black, and the only thing that kept him from having a complete meltdown was the fact that Master Hand's light was shining down on him. Aside from that, he could see nothing in that space.

That was when he heard the screaming. It was the most terrible sound he'd ever heard, a deep throated howl of unadulterated pain. When the scene appeared in front of him moments later, Luigi immediately wished the room was dark again.

Hanging above him like a massive chandelier was Master Hand, red with pain and sparks of electricity racing across his fingers. He had cuts all over him, and all of them were leaking blood. His knuckles were the only thing that remained bone white. Four orange razor thin chains were anchored in Master Hand's knuckles, causing him pain every time he tried to move. The chains disappeared into the sky, and maniacal laughter filled the air as a human like form with multicolored wings descended from the dark sky.

Luigi stared at the scene in shock, realizing that he'd seen this place before. It was the entrance to Subspace, where he, Ness and Dedede had gone up to challenge Tabuu. This was the spot where the rest of the Smashers had been turned into trophies after they finally entered the Subspace.

And this was the spot where Master Hand had tried to rebel against Tabuu, but failed.

"So...the unbeatable Hand of Creation, huh?" Tabuu rasped. He scoffed. "Pathetic. I thought you would have put up more of a fight against me, because after all, you don't want to be beaten by a mere _mortal_, right?"

_"You...how could you have amassed so much power?!" _Master Hand writhed against the chains, causing a wave of blue and black electricity to come over him. He screamed so loudly, all of Subspace shook uncontrollably. Luigi covered his ears from the volume and the pain of the scream.

"It is a combination of my powers and Crazy Hand's," Tabuu responded. "I learned from the best of the best after all."

Icy terror made the blood in Luigi's veins run cold. "C-C-Crazy Hand?" he stammered.

_"How is that possible?! I drained Crazy Hand of his powers before sending him to the Subspace!"_

Tabuu laughed. "You fool. You prideful, overconfident fool. Your banishing Crazy Hand to the Subspace gave him the means to _recover _his powers. I believe you remembered the part about the Subspace affecting fighters, but that's only if they are normal human fighters. Placing a deity like Crazy Hand in there will only have him regain his powers...and make him even more powerful than you."

The color drained from Master Hand's fingers, making him look eerie with half of his hand red with pain and the other bone white with fear. _"I...I cannot believe it. I had sensed power fluctuations before, but...I should have noticed Crazy Hand's strength before it was too late!"_

"It _is _too late, Master Hand...for you and the rest of the multiverse. I will destroy everything and become the supreme ruler of all!" Tabuu declared. "But first...I will need some assistants to help me to this job. Destroying the multiverse takes a lot of effort." Then, his features turned into the cruelest smile that Luigi had ever seen on a human face. "And I know just who to use."

With that, the scene disappeared, and Luigi found himself back in the middle of the desert, where the warehouse still stood. With the walls looking ready to fold in on itself and the roof halfway inside the building, Luigi was amazed the building was standing at all. It was currently midnight in the desert, and the mustachioed plumber shivered at the freezing temperatures biting through his nightshirt. He wished he had brought something warm with him.

All of a sudden, a massive thunderclap resounded through the air, and an entourage of thunderclouds formed over the warehouse, seeming to grow in size. Blue and green lightning bolts flashed everywhere, signaling that this was no natural storm.

Luigi had no time to run before a massive multicolored lightning bolt the size of the Empire State Building struck the warehouse head on. The explosion that followed sent wood, fire, sand and steel shooting into the air like a geyser. The doors was blown off of the hinges from the force of the explosion, and they collapsed to the ground, fire curling the paint and melting the steel.

The R.O.B.s poured out of the warehouse like a school of fish released from a net, most of them with their arms in the air and making buzzing noises that sounded like cries for help. A wind with the force of a hurricane came up, blowing most of them down and causing the fire to spread across the desert. Black streaks of burned sand spread everywhere.

The prototype R.O.B. came out of the building last, looking half ready to fall apart, as his arms were threatening to come loose and his grey plating was covered with rust. He hovered slowly, the motors sounding ready to die at any moment. He craned his neck upwards to see a large blue form descend from the sky, rainbow-hued wings sprouting from its back, and his optics widened in shock.

The being hit the ground with a slam, sending some R.O.B.s flying backwards. The prototype looked at the blue humanoid, his optics readjusting to focus on this new creature.

"Greetings, Robotic Operating Buddy. It appears the last twenty years haven't been very kind to you," the humanoid noted, pointing at R.O.B.'s rusty plating. "But you needn't worry about that any longer. For soon, you will have a new body...though you must agree to something first before I give it to you."

The prototype looked at the creature, and Luigi could see the curiosity in his eyes.

"What I need you to do...is to help me destroy the multiverse. I have created weapons meant to swallow entire worlds whole, but the mechanisms require your expertise, R.O.B. You and your race will be able to work after being abandoned for so long," he said. "Just agree with me, and we can start working immediately."

"Don't do it, R.O.B.! Think of what you're doing!" Luigi shouted.

The prototype R.O.B. looked around him, seeing as the other R.O.B.s had stopped panicking. It _would_ be great for all of the R.O.B.s to get new bodies, as all of the spare parts he'd acquired were starting to fall apart and rust. But he looked around the desert before him, and he realized then that he couldn't possibly destroy the world. He had waited for two decades to be useful to people again, to really be part of the multiverse, and to atone for what happened to the professors.

The robot shook his head in response, sending relief flooding into Luigi's bones.

Tabuu, however, wasn't that pleased with R.O.B.'s response.

"Very well. It's your choice," he said pleasantly, though Luigi caught that his tone was forced, as if he were holding himself back from destroying the robot. He watched as Tabuu turned his attention to the other R.O.B.s, malicious intent in his eyes.

White fire shot out of his eyes and descended in twin streams towards the robots. With a tilt of his head, he incinerated a row of R.O.B.s that had tried to run. Their high-pitched shrieks of pain died suddenly as the fire destroyed their circuitry, reducing them into piles of mangled, charred metal.

The prototype R.O.B.'s optics widened in utter horror as Tabuu continued his killing spree, sweeping many of the prototype's brethren into the distance with his large wings and blasting them with fire. Some of the R.O.B.s were running away, but they didn't get fare before Tabuu melted them into rubble.

With what power he could muster, the prototype charged towards Tabuu, the motor rattling and his rusty arms half raised in a fighting stance. His optics flashed a bright white, which narrowed in determination as he came closer to Tabuu. He didn't care if he destroyed himself for doing this. He called in the last of his energy reserves, his head burning from the inside as he prepared to unleash his attack. He was vaguely aware of one R.O.B. shrieking warnings at him, or the power that was coming from the humanoid.

It was one thing to come after him to ask him to do evil. It was an entirely different matter to hurt the other R.O.B.s for refusing to do evil. And even though he was falling apart, he was _not _going to let this monster get away with destroying the other R.O.B.s anyway he pleased.

His body shuddered violently, and a red flicker of light appeared at the top of his head; small at first, but then sparking with small red bolts of electricity. The angry buzzing and high pitched whirring coming from him caused Tabuu to turn around to see what was going on. A thin red laser shot out of the prototype's forehead, striking Tabuu's left hand. Tabuu laughed as though it tickled, only for his laugh to become a scream of pain as the prototype poured what was left of his energy into the beam, boring a hole into the humanoid's hand. He yanked his hand upwards, looked at the dark hole in his hand, and focused his full attention on the prototype, white fire forming in his good right hand. With a scream of indignation, he sent a stream of white flames towards R.O.B.'s laser beam. The sky erupted into color as the two attacks struggled to overcome each other.

The beam fight was over in seconds, for Tabuu's fire attack managed to push back the prototype's at an astonishing speed. The prototype R.O.B., having exhausted his energy reserves, had no means of defending himself, and Tabuu's attack crashed into him. A brilliant explosion occurred, blowing him to pieces. Only a three foot deep crater in the sand marked where he'd been earlier. What remained of his armor streaked through the air like meteorites and slammed into the ground with incredible force.

Tabuu turned towards the remaining R.O.B.s, who appeared to be shuddering with fear. "Do you see what has happened to your leader?! _That _is your punishment should you even consider refusing my demands!" he roared, the volume of his voice sending three robots flying. When a few more robots hissed and clicked in anger, he boomed, "You will follow my orders, or else you will end up like him!"

That shut the robots up fast, and all of them looked at the remains of the prototype, whose body was spread all over the desert. Conflicting emotions flickered in their optics, running over decisions in their minds. He'd been with them all since the day they were put into the warehouse, and had taken care of them for twenty years, loving them all as though they were children. They all respected him and loved him as well.

With sadness in their optics, they collectively nodded in agreement. Tabuu's mouth curled into a cruel smile.

"Well. That, it seems, got you to finally agree," he said. With a snap of his fingers, the white fire disappeared from the prototype's remains in a puff of smoke. At this point, however, he was already gone. Seeing how distraught the R.O.B.s looked, Tabuu said, "Don't worry. He'll be rebuilt with a new body that'll be mostly heat-resistant. All of you will get the same body as well. Now come with me. We have a lot of work to do."

Raising his arms in a lifting gesture, Tabuu lifted into the sky, and so did the R.O.B.s. Some of them looked at the warehouse forlornly, while others focused their attention on their leader, whose remains were rising into the sky with them. A large black hole opened up in the midst of the thunderclouds, and the entourage soon went inside it. In a matter of seconds, the black hole disappeared and so did the clouds. With the exceptions of the destroyed warehouse and the blackened sand, everything was back to normal.

Luigi found himself staring at the remains of this scene in shock. He had gotten the feeling that Tabuu was as heartless as they come, but this...this made him out to be a complete monster. After all, he was able to wrestle control of the multiverse away from _Master Hand_, keeping him imprisoned in the Subspace, and had blackmailed the R.O.B.s into servitude by blowing up the prototype. He could only imagine what went through the prototype's head after he'd been rebuilt.

All of a sudden, the scene shattered before him, and Luigi found himself at gravity's mercy as he fell through the floor. A scream bubbled up in his throat, but it remained trapped there as the air was whooshed from his lungs. He found himself rapidly approaching a large platform, streaked with blue and black energy. Thunder crashed around him, and he knew that he was heading back to the Subspace.

Luigi landed on the platform on his face, pain coursing through his large, bulbous nose. He sat up with a moan, and that was when he heard Tabuu's voice proclaim, "Now, doesn't that look better than your old plating?"

The plumber looked in front of him, and there, sitting on a large pedestal in front of Tabuu, was the prototype R.O.B. He had been rebuilt completely, and his plating resembled that of the second model's, only with a yellowish tint to it. His pincers and the bottom of his hexagonal platform was red. The robot was also somewhat taller, as he had originally been the same size as the other R.O.B.s.

He looked down at himself, and chirped unhappily.

"You should be grateful, you aging piece of scrap. I could have left you for dead," Tabuu said. "I've already told you what would happen should you disobey me."

R.O.B. gave Tabuu what Luigi assumed to be a glare, but he said nothing else.

"Now, I've gotten everything set up perfectly. You will appear during the middle of the tournament, and challenge any Smasher you come across. Once you are defeated, you will be placed in the roster of fighters along with the rest of them. Before the end of the tournament, we shall place our plan into motion. There are two others that I'm planning on gathering to help, but I think you'll do just fine."

The prototype nodded, and Tabuu disappeared, leaving all of the R.O.B.s in Subspace. The other R.O.B.s looked down at the floor, their expressions remorseful. Luigi could even swear that he saw regret in their eyes, as if thinking, _What have we done?_

The scene in front of Luigi vanished away to reveal the Final Destination again. Slowly, Master Hand floated from the other side of the platform, flexing his fingers. A tense minute of silence went between the two of them, and the only sound that came from the Final Destination was the howling of the wind.

After a moment, Master Hand said, _"The reason why I brought you back, Luigi, is to see how you feel about this whole situation before I show you more of R.O.B.'s story. It is...quite distressing, I know." _His tone was sorrowful as he faced the taller plumber, who was wiping away tears.

"T-that's...that's really depressing, y-you know?" Luigi replied finally, his voice racked with sobs. Out of all the things he'd faced in life, he had never, ever seen anything as heartbreaking as R.O.B.'s past. "N-Nobody should go through that much suffering..."

_"Yes, that _is_ true. __But sometimes, people are just that unlucky, Luigi." _Master Hand sighe_d. "I am not sure if R.O.B's story will ease the animosity and hurt that many of the Smashers feel towards him. But it will explain why he did what he did, and why he is the way he is."_

Luigi sighed. "So now..."

Master Hand turned to face the galaxies and the millions of stars that surrounded them in the Final Destination. _"So now...we must go into the Subspace Emissary, now that you understand how R.O.B. was forced to work against his will to protect the people he cared about."_

The universe melted away from Luigi's eyes, and he mentally braced himself for what would come as Mario, Link and Kirby came running into view...

**END OF PART 1**

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_**Well, how was that? My original draft was going to go into details about R.O.B.'s role in the video game industry, but since Acceptance was pretty much set away from video games, I decided it would be too confusing and deleted it. With the introduction of that Ninten Dou (clever, huh?) guy, you get to see just what R.O.B. did. He did save video games, but he outlived his purpose and was forgotten for a long time until now. To some people, he should stay forgotten, but I disagree.**_

_**So far, R.O.B.'s story is a bit sadder than the Duck Hunt Duo's. He lost his creators, his identity, his home and then his life, then he comes back and finds out the other R.O.B.s were forced to cooperate in destroying the whole mutliverse if they wanted to live. He refused, but Tabuu threatened to kill all the R.O.B.s if he didn't. If you thought things were bad for R.O.B. now, things in the second part won't look too good for him either, until the end of the story. I have no idea when the second part will be out, though. I've got a lot of stories to do.**_

_**Tell me what you think in your reviews! I'd really appreciate it!**_

_**God bless, iheartgod175**_


	2. Part II: Regret

**A/N: **Hey folks! Sorry I've taken so long to get this story done. As one can see, I tried to take a break from _The Return of the Phantom Empire_ in order to update my other stories, such as this one, _Sodor Magic Crusaders_ and _Tea for Two, _as well as the fourth chapters of _The Heroes of Time _and _Fiery Heart, Broken Soul_. Needless to say, it didn't really work ^^" The only stories I'm trying to work on now is the fourth chapter for FH, BS and the last chapter of Tea for Two, as I've updated the others.

Things will be taking a little bit of a darker and tragic turn here, as we get to see R.O.B.'s inner feelings during his role in the Subspace Emissary and what happened afterwards. And

Oh, and I will be mixing R.O.B.'s canon role in the Subspace Emissary with my headcanon, since I found out about the Ancient Minister and the Isle of the Ancients at the last minute and decided I could add a little bit of what happened in this story.

**Disclaimer: **I'm not Masahiro Sakurai, people, therefore I own nothing.

* * *

**REDEMPTION**

**PART 2: Regret**

Luigi watched his brother, Link and Kirby take on several of the Primids, destroying them effortlessly. Upon hearing a loud war cry, he turned upwards to see Pit sweep downwards, a blue arrow notched and pulled taught. The moment a Feyesh tried to gang up on Mario, the arrow screamed through the air, hitting it and knocking it backwards. Pit landed in front of the creature and quickly slashed at it with his blades. With a hollow screech, the Feyesh exploded into a ball of fire.

"Well, that takes care of those things," Pit muttered.

"We need to keep going," Mario said. "I have no idea what could have happened to the princess or any of the other Smashers, what with those black holes sprouting up in random places."

"We won't be going anywhere anytime soon," Link groaned, pointing at the ground in front of them. "Look."

Everyone turned to see millions of small, black and purple bugs start to crawl towards them in a massive wave. The bugs slowly condensed into the various forms of the Primids, which started to run towards them.

"Mama mia," Mario muttered. "I sure could use Luigi's help right about now."

"We'll have to make do with who we've got," Link answered, leveling the Master Sword at the Primids. "Come on!"

Like coils released from a spring, the four leaped towards the Subspace Army. Primids flew left and right as swords and arrows danced through the battalions of soldiers. Luigi watched as his brother and his allies tore through them as though they were paper. It reminded him of the various treks across the Mushroom Kingdom, how Mario would never think twice about stomping Koopas out of their shells and use them as weapons.

Just as they had finished thrashing the first battalion, the familiar high-pitched whirring of a robot filled Luigi's ears. He, along with his brother, turned to face a squad of R.O.B.s coming their way. Their plating was colored a metallic purple, and purple lasers burst from their optics, forcing Mario to use his Super Cape to deflect the shots.

"When will these guys learn to give up?" Pit declared, twirling the Sacred Bow of Palutena in his right hand.

"Don't get too cocky, Pit," Link said. "Just focus on destroying them."

"Sure thing." With that, Pit ran into the battle, pulling the bow apart to form his blades. Link, Mario and Kirby joined him, muscles tense in preparation for battle.

The sounds of crunched metal filled Luigi's ears as Mario's fist went through a R.O.B.'s head, the force of the blow sending it pinwheeling backwards. Likewise, the R.O.B that had challenged Link had no chance of fighting back; its arms were sent flying off with the force of Link's strikes, then its head. Kirby was hit by a few of the lasers, but he bounced back and launched forwards with his foot, sending the robot crashing into the ground. Pit deflected the lasers by rapidly twirling his bow, sending the shots back in the R.O.B.'s face. He then grabbed it, slammed it into the ground and jammed his blade into his back, causing the R.O.B. to short circuit. It fell limply at his feet. Pit pulled out his sword and then rushed to join Mario, Link and Kirby, who were already ahead.

Luigi grimaced. "I guess Mario didn't really notice that R.O.B. had been the tournament for a while now," he said.

_"R.O.B. had been in the roster during the last few months of the tournament. Snake was the one person most hyped about, and nobody really noticed R.O.B. If you ask me, I suppose he and Tabuu preferred things to stay that way. If R.O.B. had been given great fanfare like Snake and Sonic had, many more would have been suspicious about his absences from matches," _Master Hand said.

"R.O.B. skipped several matches because he needed extensive repair, from what the translators told me," Luigi said. "I guess that was an excuse in order to prepare for the Subspace Emissary."

_"Indeed it was. Tabuu called R.O.B. in repeatedly to prepare him, Bowser, Ganondorf and Wario for their roles in his plan. I unfortunately was forced to obey his will as well."_

_"What?!"_ Luigi yelled. "You had to be that madman's puppet?!"

_"Yes. I was forced to keep things moving along smoothly in the tournament until it was time for him to make his move. I had to take orders from him, Luigi, or else..."_

"Or else what?"

Master Hand was silent for a long moment. _"Or else the multiverse as you know it would have been destroyed."_

Luigi's eyes widened in shock. He had figured that if he were Master Hand, he would use every and any attack that he had in his arsenal to beat him. But there were billions-possibly trillions-of lifeforms at stake. He could understand how Master Hand had decided to go along with it, but even so...

"During the Subspace Emissary, R.O.B.s were used along with those Primids to take over the world, right?" Luigi asked.

_"That is correct. Tabuu refitted the R.O.B.s into there different classes: the Sentry, the Blaster and the Launcher. He placed them in order to protect R.O.B.'s true identity as the Ancient Minister and to keep anybody from succeeding in ruining his plans."_

"And those plans were to destroy the whole multiverse, right?"

_"That is correct. He wished to destroy it and remake it the way he saw fit. I shudder to think of what his plans for the multiverse were."_

_I don't think I want to know, either, _Luigi thought to himself.

"Is that the last of them?" Mario asked, turning to Link.

"Yeah. I think we should get going, before we get caught up in-"

"LOOK!" Pit interrupted, pointing at something in the sky. Everyone turned to see what the angel was looking at, and their eyes widened with horror.

A large floating island in the middle of the sky was being swallowed whole by a large black and purple sphere. Winds whipped all around them, almost pulling them into the black hole himself. Luigi's eyes were locked onto the horrible sight of the Isle of the Ancients being destroyed by the Subspace Bombs. Over the deafening roar of the explosion, two small ships, one colored bright orange with a green visor, the second a blue and gold ship modeled to look like a falcon, flew out of the hole, barely avoiding the winds that were swallowing everything else.

"What happened there?" Luigi asked.

_"To give you a good image of what happened, I must take you back to the Isle of the Ancients before its decimation. At this point, the Subspace Army was preparing to amass their forces for a large-scale takeover of the multiverse."_

Luigi watched as the scene before him melted away, everything becoming a blurry mixture of colors that made his eyes hurt. In a matter of seconds, the colors refocused, turning into a steel gray laboratory with a massive amount of Subspace Bombs. In the center of the room, over hundreds of R.O.B.s were making their way to the bombs, two coming on each side of the bomb, their pincers in grabbing position. Overseeing them was the Ancient Minister, otherwise known as R.O.B. to all the other Smashers. His green and red robes fluttered around slowly as he swept around the room, watching as the R.O.B.s went to work bringing out the Subspace Bombs.

"So here, they're preparing to release all of those bombs," Luigi noted. "What part of the Isle of Ancients is this?"

_"This is the Subspace Bomb Factory, located deep inside the Isle of Ancients. Here, Tabuu modified the R.O.B.s and made them into the three variants you saw during Mario's journey. This was also a home for the remaining two thousand R.O.B.s that lived in that warehouse, as all of them couldn't come to the tournament at once, for it would attract suspicion. The prototype R.O.B. reluctantly accepted his role as the Ancient Minister, given to him by Tabuu, who wanted him to keep a leash on the R.O.B.s while he was preparing for the campaign. He did attempt to rebel, but Tabuu destroyed several more of his brethren in front of his eyes, and he decided to just keep quiet and do as he was told._

_"However, watching the very world that he was created to serve be destroyed, at his own hands no less, caused him to have a change of heart, I believe. Ganondorf, Bowser and Wario had no change of heart at all, I noticed, during their time in the army, but R.O.B. did. He'd remembered at last why he'd refused Tabuu's orders: he wanted to see more of the world, and finally be useful to someone else. And his fellow R.O.B.s believed in that dream as well. They just gave in to fear, unfortunately."_

Luigi looked at the Ancient Minister, who looked down at the ground forlornly. Almost immediately, he could see what Master Hand was talking about; there was regret and sadness in the Minister's yellow optics as he stared at the floor, not paying attention to any of the R.O.B.s scuttling away at getting the bombs. Even though he couldn't cry physically, it seemed as though the prototype were crying for every single world he'd destroyed as well as the people that had been in it. It broke Luigi's heart to see so much sadness from this aged machine. Even though it was only a memory, he was half tempted to run over and give the prototype a hug, if only to comfort him.

The saddened moment was broken when a loud explosion came from the side door, sending pieces of the door crashing all around Luigi. Startled, he turned to see Samus and Pikachu rush in, the latter's expression fierce as they skidded to a stop in front of the Ancient Minister. Samus pointed her cannon arm at him, while Pikachu growled, lightning bolts erupting from its red cheeks.

Luigi braced himself for what looked like an inevitable brawl, but rather than order the R.O.B.s to attack, the Ancient Minister continued to stare at the ground, not even acknowledging Samus or Pikachu. His sadness and remorse were now much more apparent in his body language; even Samus and Pikachu lowered their guard, looking surprised to see this.

Several seconds later, there was a loud pounding that startled everybody. The ceiling gave way to reveal Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon and Olimar freefalling through the air and hitting the ground with a slap. They all got into fighting positions as well, staring at the Ancient Minister with anger and determination in their eyes.

Even with six other fighters in the room, the prototype didn't even look up at them. It took a low hum from the other side of the room to fully grasp his attention. He turned to see a red holographic of Ganondorf, who glared at him with disdain.

_"Ancient Minister, it is time for us to begin our final operation. All R.O.B.s, prepare to unload and activate the Subspace Bombs. We will destroy any and all hindrances to our plan." _At this, he sent a cruel smile towards the other assembled Smashers, who turned their attention towards Ganondorf.

Obediently, the other R.O.B.s began to move to the racks where the bombs were, some brushing right past the Ancient Minister. The other Smashers looked ready to fight, but to their and Luigi's surprise, the Ancient Minister raced in front of the R.O.B.s, swerving to a stop in front of the first rack. He vehemently shook his head, looking at all of them in a single sweep. At this, the R.O.B.s paused, and looked at each other, wondering what to do next.

Ganondorf growled. _"This is no time for hesitation. If I have to override your circuits in order to get this done, then so be it." _He pulled out a tube-shaped remote, and pressed the button on top. All of the R.O.B.s shuddered, their eyes flashing a bright red once before they moved past the Ancient Minister and started to unload the Subspace Bombs.

Luigi ran towards two that were halfway towards Samus and the others, his right hand alight with green fire. He swung a punch at one, but only hit air. He shook the fire off and tried to pull at them, but had the same result. At the sound of loud crashes and booms, he turned to see the disguised prototype slamming into several of his brethren, knocking them away from the opening device of the bombs and sending them into the walls. He turned towards the other robots, and Luigi could see the determination in his optics. He would do anything to keep them from destroying the world, even if it meant he had to attack his own brethren to do so.

This action elicited an angry snarl from Ganondorf, who growled out, _"Ancient Minister, you are relieved of duty. From here on out, I will take command! R.O.B. Army, exterminate him!" _He jammed the button on his remote, sending a death glare towards the disguised prototype.

"NO!" Luigi screamed, but by then it was too late.

There was a loud whirring as Ganondorf's override took effect. The R.O.B. Army shuddered violently like leaves in a gale, their eyes going from pitch black to blood red. They all turned as one towards the Ancient Minister, who reared back in horror. Shrieks and horrified gasps came from Samus' group, who watched the scene before them in shock.

Streams of yellow laser fire ripped through the air and slammed into the prototype, who jerked back and forth with the force of the shots. No amount of his high-pitched yelling could stop the R.O.B.s from continuing their shooting. In a matter of minutes, the Ancient Minister's garb was set on fire, and the prototype slumped forwards, having given up without a fight. Seeing as their main obstacle was destroyed, the R.O.B. Army made their way towards the Subspace Bombs, unloading them at a speed that would have amazed Luigi were it not for the fact that they were going to be used for destruction.

A nasty evil chuckle came from Ganondorf as he watched the R.O.B. Army activate the Subspace Bombs. Incessant beeping filled the air as the countdown continued. This finally spurred Samus and her team into action. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong began to pull the R.O.B.s away from the bombs as best as they could. Samus shot some of them, while she used her energy chain for others. Captain Falcon hefted some on his back with ease, while Olimar ordered his Pikmin to attack the R.O.B.s. Pikachu used its Thunderbolt attack on some of them, which easily destroyed their circuitry and armor.

This didn't bother Ganondorf in the least. With a wave of his hand, a wave of Auroroses melted through the walls, heading directly for the group. Luigi, Samus, Captain Falcon and everyone else stared in shock as the birds dove for the attack, aiming for Olimar and Pikachu first. The electric Pokemon electrocuted some of them out of the sky, while Olimar threw some of his Pikmin at them. Three of the Auroroses tumbled out of the sky, slamming into the ground with a thud.

Luigi saw even more enter the room, and knew immediately that the small group was in some serious trouble. Even with all their firepower, they wouldn't last long against the Auroroses, and there were probably even more members of the Subspace Army lying in wait in the Subspace Bomb Factory. And then there were the Subspace Bombs to be dealt with...

"They're screwed..." Luigi muttered, watching as the others continued to shoot the bird-like creatures. He turned towards the Ancient Minister, who still had his optics wide open. It terrified the green plumber to end, as those eyes seemed to bore into his very soul.

What happened next almost gave him a heart attack. With a low whir, the Ancient Minister raised its head and shot two purple lasers at the Auroroses, destroying two of them. Volleys of laser fire streaked through the air, lighting the sky with fire as each shot hit its mark, destroying the winged creatures in a single sweep. Samus, Pikachu and the others turned to stare at him in shock.

And then, with a wave of his arms, the burning robes of the Ancient Minister's garb exploded off of his body, revealing the prototype R.O.B. in his original grey plating. Luigi guessed that Tabuu must have changed it back before the Subspace Emissary, but at that moment, he could care less. He was relieved to see that the robot was alive and well, without a single scratch on his frame.

Diddy Kong cheered, as did Donkey Kong and Pikachu. Captain Falcon saluted the aging machine, and Captain Olimar and his Pikmin did a celebration jig.

Ganondorf, however, was not awed. In fact, he was furious. _"Primids, destroy them ALL!" _he roared on the intercom. With another wave of his hand, he summoned a battalion of Primids. This time, though, the Smashers and their new ally wasted no time attacking them and any other variants that came to attack them. Ozone and laser fire filled Luigi's nostrils as Samus and R.O.B. opened fire on the Primids and the few R.O.B. Launchers that remained. As the brawl continued, a part of Luigi began to believe that they would win, that everyone would make it out alright...

The incessant beeping of the Subspace Bombs startled him out of that thought, however.

The prototype R.O.B. turned towards all his fellow R.O.B.s, who all turned towards him with their red eyes. The prototype's eyes went a bright blue, as did the other R.O.B.s' eyes. At that moment, a low, robotic voice entered Luigi's head.

_"My brothers, friends...children...I'm afraid I've acted too late. This island is going to be destroyed, with everyone on it, including us. Our actions have caused the rest of the world to be destroyed as well, and we have endangered millions of innocent lifeforms. I imagined that we would have to pay for our crimes, but I did not anticipate this. However, if this is our punishment, then we will have to accept it...all of us."_

Luigi stared at the R.O.B.s in utter horror as they all shut down, their heads bowed in melancholy. Diddy Kong ran over to the prototype and shrieked at him, pointing at the exit. The prototype shook his head sorrowfully, his head still reaching the ground. Luigi then realized that the voice he had just heard in his head was the prototype R.O.B.'s voice. His reaction cemented Luigi's worst fear: he was waiting for what he believed to be the inevitable, too consumed by guilt to even attempt to escape. But Luigi could also see that when he had overrode Ganondorf's control over the R.O.B.s, he had also ordered them to shut down as well, as though he didn't want them to suffer any pain whatsoever for their actions.

It was a sight that, to Luigi, was utterly heartbreaking.

Samus turned to Captain Falcon. "We don't have much time before this place explodes," she said. Pikachu, Olimar and Diddy Kong were already running for the exit. "Luckily for everyone involved, we have a means of escape."

"I'll message the Falcon Flyer to come get us," Falcon replied. He pressed a button on the side of his helmet. "Get everyone else and go!"

Donkey Kong needed no second bidding. He ran over to the prototype, swept him and ran. The prototype's optics shot open wide as he realized that he was being carried away from the other R.O.B.s, who were still shut down. He tried to escape, shaking his head vehemently and trying to move his arms, but Donkey Kong's grip made that impossible. With the last member of their party in tow, Captain Falcon and Samus made their way out of the Factory. To Luigi's shock, two of the R.O.B.s turned and waved at the prototype in a farewell gesture. This caused the prototype to attempt to wrestle out of Donkey Kong's hold, but a tight squeeze from the large ape made him stop. The group ran down the hallway as one, racing for the exit to reach the Falcon Flyer.

The prototype's voice once again rang through Luigi's head: _"No...NO! I cannot leave my fellow R.O.B.s to suffer for my actions! I was assigned to protect them! Leaving them to die would be disobeying the orders given to me by my last boss! I cannot leave them behind! I can't!" _The desperate tone in the prototype's voice only served to make Luigi want to fall on his knees and start to cry.

A roaring explosion filled Luigi's ears moments later, and he turned to see all the Subspace Bombs erupt, swallowing the facility and all the R.O.B.s with it. He screamed as the wave expanded, swallowing him in everlasting darkness. Luigi half expected to be turned into a trophy, to never move, speak or live again, until a bright light shone down on him. He looked upwards to see Master Hand, his fingers flexing slightly.

"M-Master Hand...mama mia, that was...that was horrible to watch..." That was all Luigi got out before he burst into tears again, the revelation of R.O.B.'s horrific circumstances hitting him head on. So that was how R.O.B. became the last of his kind: he was forced to leave his fellow R.O.B.s behind to die in order to save the world, the world that he was forced to destroy.

A loud sigh from above caught Luigi's attention. _"I understand your sorrow, Luigi. I myself almost drowned in my own sorrow upon realizing what a fool I had been in letting Crazy Hand run loose. Thankfully, though, you all managed to save the multiverse from certain destruction, and now Crazy Hand and I have reconciled, if only for a while. For that, I must thank you personally for your efforts, Luigi."_

"You're welcome, I guess. I didn't do much until the very end," Luigi replied sorrowfully. "Some hero I turned out to be."

_"If it weren't for you, Luigi, not one member of the Smash Brothers tournament would have been revived, or would have made it out of Subspace," _Master Hand replied. _"That little role you played was a very important role, Luigi. Do not think otherwise."_

"Heh...thanks," Luigi said, this time a little more bashful. His small grin disappeared, however, as he remembered what had happened to R.O.B.'s fellow brethren after his escape from the Subspace Bomb Factory. "So, what exactly happened to R.O.B.?"

_"After the Subspace Emissary, all the worlds that had been swallowed were restored...all except the Isle of the Ancients. The damage was so severe that I could do nothing to bring it back. All of the R.O.B.s that were there Luigi, over a million of them, were destroyed. This left the prototype as the first and the last of his own kind. When I told him the news, he shut himself in his room for nearly a month in mourning for his lost brothers. Nothing I did could comfort him. And unfortunately for him, his suffering was only beginning. _

_"When the truth of the Subspace Emissary got out, word of those who helped Tabuu were hated by everyone around them. Bowser, Wario and Ganondorf got it, as they had joined out of their own will. But R.O.B., although he was blackmailed, got it the worst, simply because he was a machine, and as such everyone assumed that he did not feel remorse for what he did. In fact, many said that he should have died with the rest of the R.O.B.s when the Isle of the Ancients was destroyed; that way, he could feel the pain that he made the people feel. No amount of apologies, no amount of remorse he exhibited, could sway those who hated him. After the third tournament ended, in which he was declared the winner by default, he left, having nowhere to go, but not wanting to face those he'd hurt again."_

Thunder filled Luigi's ears then. The darkness around him melted into a rainy scene, where the prototype R.O.B. was making his way through a grassy plain, past an old, burned down building. Luigi realized with a start that this building was the former Gyromite Labs, the place where R.O.B. was first built. The old machine raised his head up to look at the husk of the building, the walls charcoal black and police tape surrounding the premises. He then lowered his head in sorrow, closing his eyes as though in mourning.

Low snickers then surrounded Luigi. He turned, shocked, to see three large men about a head taller than him make their way over to R.O.B. They were dressed in leather jackets and had spikes all over their sleeves. The first man had brown hair and green eyes. The second had gold hair and brown eyes. The third had dyed his hair blue in order to match his eyes. All three had mean smirks on their faces as they stopped behind the robot, who didn't even move.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? It's that old tin can from the eighties that my mom had!" the first man sneered.

"Difference between your ma's tin can and this one is that your ma's didn't try to kill everybody," the blue haired one replied.

"That's true...how's about we teach him a lesson?"

The blonde chuckled darkly, cracking his knuckles. "I've been itching for a fight with one of these things. Never liked 'em anyhow," he said.

That was the only warning R.O.B. received. The next thing he knew, he was hurled through the remains of the laboratory, sending old wood splintering everywhere. The men laughed and high-fived each other as the prototype slowly came back up, his head leaning sideways and the glass covering his optics cracked.

"What're you waiting for, you piece of junk? Aren't you going to fight me like you fought the people in the Smash Brothers tournament? Or are you too caught up in your mourning to even put up a good front?" the brown haired man taunted.

The prototype didn't answer them. He simply turned and started to leave.

"Oh no, you don't. You're not going anywhere, ever again! After what you did, you're not getting out of this alive!" the blonde roared. He rushed into the building, and R.O.B. attempted to run, but the man caught up with him. He grabbed him by his neck and threw him out of the building. The robot hit the ground with a crunch, and his head completely separated itself from his body. A burst of electric sparks hit the air, and the other two men jumped back.

"Well, that took care of him. He deserved it anyway, since he killed your father," the brunette said, turning towards the blonde, who was storming out of the ruined lab. "You alright, Kevin?"

The boy known as Kevin looked down at the broken prototype in disgust. "Yeah. Dad and Uncle Hector wouldn't have died if it weren't for that piece of crap," he said. "It's his fault! He should've stopped the Smicks when he had the chance!" He roughly kicked the robot to the other side of the street, watching as his head spun off and hit a trash can. "So many people died because of him, and he never even expressed remorse for it! He deserved the hate he got in the tournament. And he deserved to be destroyed."

With that, Kevin stormed out, his friends following soon after. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed in the distance. Luigi stared at the golden haired man, watching as he and his friends headed into town.

"That man...was Dr. Vector's son, right?" he asked.

_"Yes. He had a hatred for R.O.B. as soon as he was created, saying that he was useless and that nobody would ever need him. When his father and uncle were killed, it only served to add fuel to fire. He ordered all the R.O.B.s to be sent to the warehouse in the middle of the desert because he didn't want them in his own factory. And when R.O.B. was revealed to be one of the members of the Subspace Army...well, you saw what happened."_

"How did R.O.B. manage to come back to the tournament after all that?" Luigi asked. "If I were him, I'd never show my face anywhere ever again."

_"Take a good look at that truck coming down the street," _Master Hand said.

Luigi looked to see a navy blue heavy duty pickup truck cruise along in the rain, slowing down near the trash can. After a few more seconds of idling by, the driver eventually pulled over and stopped. The door opened, and a burly man stepped out. He had a bushy beard that was more grey than brown, and wore a plaid shirt that was colored red and blue, along with a green baseball cap. He went over to the trash can, took a look at the partially destroyed R.O.B., and then tapped on the glass of the passenger window. The passenger door swung open, and a Japanese man in a silver-grey suit jumped out, skidding to a stop next to the robot.

Luigi instantly recognized these men. It was Mr. Dou and the man who had helped load the R.O.B.s into the warehouse over twenty years ago. Mr. Dou's hair was now the shade of his suit.

"This is bad," he said. "He is in need of extensive repair."

"I know somebody who can fix him up," the man said. "He's the only person in the whole town that still has a repair shop that specializes in robotics. He should still be open right about now."

"Then take me to him. I do not want to lose the last Famicom Robot," Dou said. "Quickly, Matthew-san, we must move."

With that, Dou and Matthew picked up the prototype R.O.B. and put him in the flatbed of the pickup truck. After making sure that he was secured in the back, they jumped into the truck. Matthew started the engine, and they roared down the road, kicking up a wave of rainwater as they did so.

"Who's this old friend of Matthew's?" Luigi pondered aloud.

_"This old friend of Matthew's is a mechanic named Joshua Perlstein, one of the best mechanics in the area..and one of the few people who knew how to fix R.O.B.s." _Master Hand paused as the scene shifted to reveal an office, in which a man with graying hair and green eyes was working at his desk on some paperwork. His coat was greasy, as though he had just been in the workshop a moment ago. _"By the time he was called upon to fix R.O.B., he was just as old as Matthew, even older. But his age did nothing to slow him down."_

At the loud pounding of a door, Joshua got up, growling about how he could never finish his work, and made his way over to the door. He flung it open, a fake smile plastered on his face as he said, "Welcome to the Chop Shop. You break 'em, I fix 'em. How can I-"

He was cut off mid-sentence when he saw the two men standing in the doorway with a broken R.O.B. in their hands. "M-Matthew? What in the Sam Hill are you doing in the middle of this storm? And who is this?" he asked, pointing at Mr. Dou.

"I am Ninten Dou, president of one of the largest video game companies in the world," Mr. Dou said. "I am afraid we are meeting under less than pleasant circumstances, Joshua-san."

"It's about this R.O.B., Josh," Matthew said, motioning to the R.O.B. in their hands. "He's the last one left, and somebody went and trashed him."

Joshua's eyes widened, and then he looked at the damaged prototype. "Well...it doesn't look too bad for me to fix. It'll take about an hour or so, tops," he said. He looked at both men, shock still on his face. "Are you serious about him being the last one left?"

"Unfortunately, yes. The Subspace Emissary robbed him of his fellow brethren," Mr. Dou said. He shook his head, his expression sad. "This is my fault. I should have never left them alone in a place where they would be vulnerable..."

"It's not your fault, Mr. Dou. If anything, it's that no good son of Vector's," Matthew growled.

"There is no need to bring up his name again, old friend," Mr. Dou said. "Right now, R.O.B. needs us to help him."

Matthew nodded grimly, and soon they both walked into the shop. Joshua led them inside the workshop, which was adjacent to his office. "If you two would like to, you can sit and watch me make the repair," he said.

"I fear that we will become distractions for you," Mr. Dou said.

"Nonsense," Joshua explained. "My work's best when people watch me. That way, they can tell me just what I'm doing wrong."

Seeing as the man wouldn't budge on the matter, Matthew replied with, "If you insist." He then shut the door, blocking Luigi's view.

"What happened to R.O.B. after he was fixed up?" Luigi asked.

_"After his repair, Mr. Dou and Matthew were going to take him back to Mr. Dou's factory, where he would be safe from all harm," _Master Hand explained. _"But R.O.B. refused the deal."_

"What?! Why?"

_"You'll see why soon enough."_

A few seconds later, they were_ inside _the workshop with Joshua, Mr. Dou, Matthew, and the prototype. His new plating was a pale, light gray, and his pincer-like arms were a darker gray, as was his hexagonal platform. He looked at Mr. Dou with what appeared to be sadness, and shook his head repeatedly.

"But...why Famicom Robot? You can make yourself just as useful in my factory, and you could be restored to your original glory," the businessman pleaded.

The prototype R.O.B. clicked indignantly, shaking his head once more. Joshua sighed and turned to look at Dou.

"What did he say?" Dou asked.

"He says that he still doesn't want to go. He said that he's going to make himself useful in the way he knows how to," Joshua replied. "He wants to help out and work in my repair shop."

Mr. Dou looked over at the robot, his expression sad. "Are you absolutely sure, old friend?" he asked.

The prototype nodded, determination and confidence in its optics. Mr. Dou sighed.

"I suppose there is no way of changing your mind. You are free to do what you wish, Famicom Robot," he said. "I guess this is goodbye then."

He extended a hand towards the prototype, who extended his arm in order to meet his hand. They shook hands, and Mr. Dou paused to hurriedly wipe a few tears from his eyes. Matthew also looked at the prototype with a saddened smile.

"Well, we'll be seeing each other again soon, little guy," he said, patting the prototype on the head affectionately. With a nod towards Joshua, he and Mr. Dou left the shop, closing the door silently behind them.

Joshua turned towards the prototype, who looked at him with a neutral expression. He sighed, but a rueful smile was on his face.

"Well, I suppose I may need help with some projects that I've been working on for a few days," he said. "Can I trust you to help me with some of these repairs?"

The prototype nodded, and Joshua pet the robot on his head. "Come along then," he said, moving aside so R.O.B. could hover off of the worktable. "We have a lot of work to do, and the sooner we start it, the better."

"So, he turned down Mr. Dou's offer in order to work with Joshua, the man who saved his life?" Luigi asked.

_"Yes. While Mr. Dou's offer promised him fame and glory, R.O.B. wanted none of that. I suppose he had already seen what had happened when Tabuu had offered him that same exact thing and refused it on those grounds. As I said earlier, R.O.B.'s greatest wish was to explore the world and serve others, making himself useful. I also believe that he thought this would be his best and only chance at earning redemption," _Master Hand explained, _"as he did feel great remorse and regret for his actions and wanted to find a way to prove that he wanted a second chance."_

"Well, that explains why he's back," Luigi answered, "but I wonder why he was so upset after I mentioned his Super Diffusion Beam."

_"This will be the last thing that I will show you, Luigi, before you must return to your quarters." _Master Hand's tone brooked no room for arguments. _"R.O.B. became a very good assistant to Joshua, as you saw earlier. He would help construct spare parts for other robots that existed in his world, as the business had experienced a small boom and more people were buying robots. He also helped construct a few new weapons, such as the Diffusion Lasers, which were placed on more warlike machines. When it was time for the fourth tournament, Joshua decided that R.O.B. needed a new Final Smash, but he was having some trouble coming up with new ideas. _

_"Then, on the day before R.O.B.'s scheduled challenger match, Vector's son Kevin dropped off old blueprints that he didn't need anymore, saying that as Joshua was the only person he knew he could trust, he could have them. Inside that stack of blueprints was the design for the Super Diffusion Beam, which had been designed by Hector and Vector themselves. It was originally going to be equipped with the prototype, but they decided not to add it again, as they didn't want to make a war machine. Joshua showed R.O.B. the blueprint, and he didn't quite agree with him on having it as his Final Smash."_

The scene in the workshop melted away as it transitioned to the other side of the repair store, where Joshua and R.O.B. were sitting at a table, blueprints haphazardly placed all over its surface. Joshua sighed, rubbing his temples as he looked down at R.O.B., who appeared to be folding his arms. The man seemed to have aged since Luigi had first seen him, but then he remembered that it had been six years since the third tournament and the Subspace Emissary.

"R.O.B., this weapon is the most powerful accessory that Hector and Vector designed," Joshua argued. "Everything else is incompatible with your circuitry. If I were to add anything else, I would have to rebuild you."

The prototype shook his head stubbornly, narrowing his eyes at the professor and making a series of angry clicks.

"R.O.B., I know that you want to honor your creators by keeping your original Diffusion Beam. To be honest, I can see why. It's what makes you you. It makes you stand out from the crowd," he said. "However, you also told me that you would like a little more power to your original Diffusion Beam. And this would be easy to install on you without having to take you apart."

R.O.B. looked down at the ground somewhat downcast, as if realizing that he had no counter for that argument.

"R.O.B., this is how you can also honor your professors: using one of their designs in battle. I know for sure that they would be proud to know that their one remaining prototype is still capable of using their designs," Joshua said. "And I know you would still like to beat the rest of the competition. You do have somewhat of a competitive streak, if I recall correctly."

R.O.B. nodded again in understanding.

"So, what do you think? The Super Diffusion Beam doesn't sound so bad now, does it?" Joshua inquired.

After a few seconds, the robot nodded again, his optics clear of anger. Joshua patted the robot on his head, and then grabbed the blueprint before bounding towards the workshop, R.O.B. dogging his heels.

"Even after he got the Super Diffusion Beam installed, he still felt guilty because he knew he couldn't thank his professors for it, right?" Luigi asked.

_"Yes. The guilt he felt over their deaths returned when he saw the blueprints for the Super Diffusion Beam. Even though Joshua did manage to get him to accept the plan, even after it worked perfectly and even after he wowed everyone at the competition, he still felt some guilt and remorse. However, he was determined to head back to the Smash Brothers tournament, determined to atone for all that he had done to everyone."_

_I guess I can see why he'd be upset about that, _Luigi thought to himself as the vision disappeared_._

_"Now, are there any other questions you have, Luigi, before you return to your quarters?" _Master Hand asked.

"Yeah. How is R.O.B. supposed to show everyone around him that he really is serious about redeeming himself?" Luigi asked.

_"I can't answer that question, Luigi. However, I do believe that actions speak louder than words. And R.O.B.'s actions will serve him well in the future, as he is currently incapable of speaking. It may take him a while to earn redemption, but I do believe that he deserves a second chance."_

Luigi nodded. R.O.B. had spent over twenty years carrying loads of guilt and sorrow over deaths that could have been prevented, almost destroying the universe, and failing his mission. If he had been human, the amount of sorrow probably would have pushed him over the edge and make him do the unthinkable. R.O.B. wasn't perfect, Luigi knew, even though he was a machine. He had screwed up by joining Tabuu and directing the Subspace Emissary, but he was fully prepared to correct that mistake by going on living and helping others, as he had been built to do.

"Thanks for clearing things up for me, Master Hand. I really appreciate it. It still hurts to watch R.O.B. go through all that pain and suffering, but at least he has a friend to get him through it," Luigi answered.

_"I also think that with your help, R.O.B. will have even more friends who will keep him on the right path," _Master Hand said. _"I trust that you'll do well."_

Luigi nodded again, and then he yawned. "Geez, it must be getting late," he muttered.

_"Indeed, it is. Don't worry, I will make sure that nobody disturbs your rest."  
_

Luigi nodded, and then made his way to the doors that led to the exit, finding himself back in Smash Mansion. He yawned as he made his way towards his room, grimacing when he saw that it was early dawn. The sun was already painting the hallways and the walls a bright orange.

He was about to make it to his room when the doors to R.O.B.'s room hissed open. Luigi turned to see R.O.B. hover out of his room, blinking a little bit. He looked over and jumped back in what appeared to be surprise.

"Hey, R.O.B. Don't worry about me. I just came back from talking to Master Hand," he answered.

Luigi guessed that he looked extremely tired, for R.O.B. didn't at all convinced with his answer. He made his way over to the plumber and practically pushed open the door to his room, followed by ushering the plumber into his room in a shooing motion. In a matter of seconds, he found himself near the bed, watching as R.O.B. started smoothing the covers out and fluffing his pillows.

"R.O.B., you don't have to do this, you know," he said.

R.O.B. simply buzzed and shook his head, continuing with his fluffing routine. He then patted the bed in a manner that clearly said "get in". Luigi did, if only because his legs were ready to collapse from standing for so long.

"Thanks, R.O.B. I appreciate it," he said.

R.O.B. nodded and turned to leave Luigi's room, but that was when the plumber placed his hand on the old machine's head, catching his attention.

"Hey, uh...I went to Master Hand and he told me everything there was to know about you, R.O.B. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if I ever thought you were a bad person because of what you did during the Subspace Emissary. And I've also been kind of inconsiderate to see why you're working so hard at the mansion. I just wanted to say that I want to help you in anyway I can, and that you've already gotten your second chance. Otherwise...you wouldn't be here in the tournament." Luigi looked into the optics of this old machine, seeing a flicker of hope in them, as though he really did believe him. "And trust me, no matter what anybody says, you deserve to be here."

R.O.B. looked down at the floor, his expression somewhat shy as the plumber pat his head. After Luigi finished petting his head, R.O.B. extended his right pincer towards the plumber's hand. Luigi smiled at the old robot and grasped his pincer in a friendly handshake. He could practically see the "thank you" in R.O.B.'s optics, the gratefulness at having finally found a friend who would stick with him towards the end.

After letting go of R.O.B's pincer, Luigi stifled a yawn, his eyes burning with tiredness. R.O.B. patted his arm and turned to leave.

"Good night, R.O.B.," Luigi said.

R.O.B. turned and beeped and clicked five times, which Luigi could only interpret as him saying, "Goodnight, Luigi." With that, the robot was out the door, closing it softly as he left.

Luigi turned over and laid down on his side, closing his eyes to the rest of the world, even as the other Smashers in the rooms across from his and next door were starting to wake up from their sleep. Sure, he was going to be incredibly tired, and his sleep schedule was going to be thrown off by about eight hours.

But if it meant that he'd help a friend along on his path to redemption, then he could care less.

Luigi fell asleep that morning dreaming of everyone cheering on the prototype, showering him with praises and adoration.

**The End**

* * *

_**And with that, "Redemption: The Story of the Last R.O.B." is complete! Woo-hoo! To be honest,I didn't think a two-shot would take THIS long to finish. I would have done an ending where he gets his praise and admiration, but that would seem too cheesy and predictable. I didn't do that with "Acceptance", so I won't do the same with this story. Redemption is something that has to be earned, not handed to you. R.O.B.'s still on a long road to earn that, but at least he's got a friend who is going to help him out.  
**_

_**It took me a while to figure out what R.O.B. was going to do during the Subspace Emissary. I didn't want to just do a full-blow retelling of his role in SE, as most of us already know about what he does. So, I just added more about how he felt during his guise as the Ancient Minister. Although canon officially states that he IS the Ancient Minister, here I had Tabuu force him to take on that role, although he still had to protect his fellow R.O.B.s from being destroyed. **_

_**Basically, R.O.B. is the first and the last-the first to be created and the last to remain. Poor guy's had a hard life, but he's survived a lot of the attempts to destroy him, and he did have some supporters such as Mr. Dou, Matthew and Joshua. I had a blast writing Mr. Dou the most out of the bunch; aside from the pun, I saw him as a businessman who makes a lot of unpopular decisions but always tries to do the right thing. Luigi would be second; I always saw him as the more sensitive one out of the Mario Brothers, hence why I think he was better suited for sympathizing with R.O.B.'s plight more than Mario. And **__**I did enjoy writing the explanation for his new Final Smash, which was pretty darn cool (though not as cool as Mega Man's Final Smash).  
**_

_**Thanks to everyone who read this two-shot. I really appreciate the reviews, as it lets me know that there are more R.O.B. fans than I thought. Reviews are great, but constructive criticism is even better. Also, I think I'll do a one-shot focusing on Lucas' return, but that'll be later in the future.**_

_**Again, thanks to all who read this! You guys rock! **_

_**-God bless, iheartgod175 **_


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